Outdoor sign



March 13. 1928.

` W. C. JAMES OUTDOOR SIGN Filed 0011.29, 1923 Patented Mar. i3, 192s.

UNITI-:o STATI-:s

y 1,662,616 PATENT OFFICE.

WILL c. JAMES, or NORWOOD, OHIO,V Assienon To aannemers-THOMAS.COMPANY,or NOawoon, OHIO, A CORPORATION or OHIO.

f OUTDOOR SIGN- Application filed October 29, 1923. Serial.` No.671,406.

My invention relates to an outdoor sign formedl of iibreboard, asdistinguished from metal signs generally. For many years I have beenengaged in the manufacture of outdoorl signs for advertising purposes tothe extent to make certain that a properly treated iece of fibreboardwill outlast, for the desired life ofy a sign, any ordinarymetal eignofa character within range of economy.

The processing of such outdoor signs of ibreboard is, however, a matterof great importance in assuring a long life, maintenance of brilliancy`of coloring and assurance of perfect application of printing inks andcolors.

Itis my object' in this invention to provide a process of preparingoutdoor signs of libreboard so as to lill and cap all pores with amoisture resistant material, to prepare a satisfactory printing mat orsurface upon the board, to print or decorate the board and nally tocoact the printed surface together with the board with a varnish-likematerial, and to protect the edgesof the board.

While I speak in the speciiications that follow of a piece ofiibreboard, it should be understood that what I refer' to is a piece ofmaterial having tibreboard on the outside, without reference to thenumber of plies of brous material, or the presence or absence of astitfener or filler of any other nature.

I am aware that signs have been manufactured of cardboard for manyyears, in which attempts have been made to render the sign waterproof,but never, so far as I am aware, with complete success, and my presentinvention represents the refinement in processing devised by me, wherebythe lboards have been produced in a way which almost entirely precludesthe entrance of moisture into the board, and the consequentdisintegration of the paper or scaling oli' of the printed matter, as isfrequently the case with other signs.

I accomplish my objects by the certain process to be hereinafter morespecifically pointed out and claimed.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of one of my signs.

Figure 2 is a cross section thereof.

The breboard either after being cut to size or in the large mill sizesheets is, if

necessary, put througli a process to remove a percentage of themoisture. It is not so important that any one given percent of moistureshould remain in the board, ybut rather that the sheets before treatmentshouldbebrought to a. uniform, fairlylow moisture content, so that aregular system of impregnating can be followed without resulting inirregular product. The resultant boardl is now immersed in a bath ofeither hotor cold compound suitable for impregnating it, the temperaturein no case being greater than about 2000 F., since much higherten'iperatures tend to disintegrate the paper. The im'pregna'tingmaterial may consist ofxoils, fats,` protein solutions, or mixturesthereof-in fact, the prima-ry qualification is that the mass shall bewater-insoL uble andy possess the necessary qualities of adhering firmlyto the paper libre and a setting power or melting point sufificientlyhigh to prevent its being melted by the heat of the sun. Immersion oftheboard in hot molten waxes such as ceresin, ozokerite, carnauba orsandarac, or mixtures thereof may be suitable for the purpose. In mypreferred process, I employ a. solution of casein and the resultantimpregnated board is thereafter treated with formaldehyde, said twosubstances combining with cach other so as to form an almost idealmedium.

After thorough impregnation of the board and practically completefilling of the spaces between the fibers, the board is run betweenrollers under light pressure` to remove the excess from the surface. Theresulting thoroughly impregnated board is now white or color coated witha combination consisting of a. drying varnish and a pigment and may thenbe dried, and subsequently printed, stenciled or lithographed in as manycolors as may seem desirable for working out the design or announcement.The printed board is now varnished with one or more coats of Hong-lived,moisture resisting varnish to render the boa-rd as nearly weatherproofas possible. It is then bound with metal .strips crimped around itsedges to stiften it, and also to exclude moisture getting in between theplies, where this is a danger, due to the way the board isbuilt up.

The attached drawing shows the ideas graphically both flat and crosssection, corresponding numerals indicating the different parts. lis theboard, 2 the first coating,

Cil

so l,

3 the second coating and 4 the varnish coating. The binding 5 is thenapplied as shown.

The particular point which I Wish to cover is the method of impregnatingthoroughly the fibreboard to be used with an inexpensive Water-insolublefilling material, and the use of such filled ibreboard in combinationwith the other products to form a sign. Such aI combination will havevery long life and Will render advertising in such a manner lessexpensive.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is:

1. The process of manufacturing an out door sign. consisting first infilling the interstices of a fiber board sheet.I by capping them with aninsolubilized casein, secondly coating the board with an ink receptivemedium7 thirdl)7 decoratingr the sign With a suitable announcement,fourthlxT varnishing the board.

2. The process of manufacturing an outdoor sign consisting first infilling the interstices of a fiber board sheet by capping them with aninsolubilized colloid, secondly coating the board with an ink receptivemedium of a type which will receive a decoration imprinted thereon,thirdly decorating the sign with a suitable announcement printed overthe coating ot the second step and fonrthly varnishing the board.

The process of manufacturing an out door sign consisting of treating afibre board with a `casein solution and formaldehyde as a coagulanl.color coating:v the resulting board with a pigment in a drying oil,printing an announcement thereon, and varnishing the surface 'front andback.

4. The process of manufacturing an outdoor sign which includes the stepsof capping;r the pores of a fibre board sheet to prevent penetraiirm olmoisture, varnish, and

inl: b v treatment with a casein solution and WILL C. JAMES.

